Frye POV

The door slowly opened in front of the squid woman as she stood up with her fists planted on her hips proudly at her lockpicking skills.

She nodded before walking in.

Frye: Heya-

She cut herself off as she looked around and saw no one was there.

She peeked into the kitchen and didn't see anyone there either.

She made her way back to the bedrooms of the home where she pressed one of her big ears up against the door and could hear noises and a man's laugh.

She backed away from the door and smiled as she opened the door and walked in happily.

Frye: Heya! What's goin'-

She stopped as she saw both (Y/N) on his phone that was playing videos as well as on the other side of his room there was a giant cutout of Callie.

Frye: What's, uh... What's up with that?

(Y/N): Oh, the cardboard cutout? Callie bought it for me from the Grand Festival.

Frye: And you don't find the big cutout creepy at all?

(Y/N) just shrugged.

(Y/N): Only a little bit at night.

Frye just shook her head to get back on track.

Frye: Anyway. Do you have any plans today?

(Y/N) shook his head now.

(Y/N): Nope. I was just sitting here on my own today-

Frye: -Great!

She exclaimed, barely even letting him finish before she grabbed him by the arm, pulling him to his feet.

Frye: Then come with me today!

(Y/N): Okay, but where are we-

Frye: -Just let it be a surprise. We'll enjoy ourselves on the way there.

(Y/N) smiled, thinking how he should've expected an answer like that.

(Y/N): Then let's get going.

He said as she happily ran a bit ahead of him to the front door.

Upon reaching the front door of his house, he looked puzzled.

(Y/N): Wait, how exactly did you get in here? Did Veronica not lock the door before she left?

Frye just smiled blankly at him for a few seconds without saying anything.

Frye:  ... Yes.

(Y/N) sighed.

(Y/N): She should know better than to leave the door unlocked before she leaves.

Frye: Worry about that later. Let's get going alreadyyyy.

(Y/N): I'm going. Let me just lock the door first.

He said, chuckling as she was close to resorting to dragging him away from the door with how much she wanted to go already.

~~~

(Y/N) POV

(Y/N) noticed that he was starting to recognize the path they were taking as the two crossed a bridge onto the tiny island.

(Y/N): Frye, are we going where I think we're going?

Frye flipped around and was walking backward.

Frye: Probably. Wanna take a guess?

(Y/N): Does it rhyme with "Floofin Beepo"?

Frye: DING DING DING!

She exclaimed with a smile.

(Y/N): Okay, then what are we doing here? We're not going to go exploring abandoned coal mines, are we?

Frye: No, or at least not today.

(Y/N): Frye, you can't just haphazardly go into abandoned mines.

Frye: It's not my fault! I've yearned for the mines since I was a little girl!

(Y/N): Frye.

Frye: It doesn't matter! Because that's not what we're doing today.

She said as the two of them were now entering into the area of Bluefin Depot which is usually where people come to do Turf Wars.

(Y/N): Then what are we doing today?

Frye: Ya see, for a while now, I've been getting distracted during some Turf War matches-

(Y/N): -I'm sure Shiver loved that.

Frye: We managed to pull back and win the matches... most of them.

She excused herself.

Frye: I've been lookin' out at the boats in the sea, especially at night, and I've just been... so taken with them...

She said, gushing over something in a way that made (Y/N)'s heart heat up upon listening to her talk about it all.

His warm thoughts were cut off when she smacked her hands together loudly.

Frye: So, I decided I wanted a boat!

(Y/N): Frye, you didn't buy a boat, did you..? With what mone-

Frye: -Ahbubu! No, I didn't buy a boat. Bluefin Depot has the boat tours off to the side of where the Turf Wars are held.

(Y/N): Oh! So, we're just going on a boat tour?

Frye: Mmm... Not exactly?

(Y/N) raised an eyebrow.

(Y/N): What do you mean?

Frye opened her mouth to quickly let out some kind of explanation but was cut off by the sound of a bell ringing loudly, drawing both of their attention toward the water.

A giant ship was pulling up alongside the dock that (Y/N) and Frye were standing at the end of, causing (Y/N)'s mouth to be agape while Frye just smiled at the marvelous sight.

The bell stopped ringing as the ship came to a stop at the dock.

A large board of wood standing vertically on the side then began tipping down off the side of the ship, causing it to slam into the dock as a ramp between the two. And with the ramp now down, visibly standing at the top were Big Man, who had been the one to push down the ramp, and Shiver who stood pompously.

Shiver: Ahoy there!

(Y/N) turned to look at Frye who was smiling at him.

(Y/N): I should've asked if you stole a boat...

~~~

(Y/N) was staring off the side of the ship, watching the water go by as the ship sailed outward.

(Y/N): How do you even know how to steer a ship this big?

Shiver: Pssh.

Shiver made the noise as she just leaned against the steering wheel.

Shiver: Is it really that hard? Wheel goes left? Boat goes left. Wheel goes right? Boat goes right.

(Y/N) didn't care to make a point further since they miraculously were still afloat.

(Y/N): Next question, did you three seriously steal the Manta Maria?

Big Man: Ay?! (What?!)

Frye: No!

Shiver: What kind of criminals do you take us for?!

(Y/N) raised an eyebrow.

Frye: The Manta Maria is perfectly fine where it always is. This is a different ship.

Shiver: Like she said. There's nothing to worry about. We didn't do anything illegal to get this ship, so relax already.

(Y/N): I'm still not completely convinced you didn't do anything wrong to get this ship, but I'll ignore it for now.

He said, giving up on trying to find the problem layered in everything happening right now.

(Y/N): What are we doing first then?

Shiver smiled, turning to Frye.

Shiver: Frye?

Frye: Isn't it obvious?

Shiver & Frye: PIRACY!
Big Man: AY! (PIRACY!)

(Y/N): Wait, like attacking other ships?

He said, slightly worried.

Frye: No, I'm thinkin' more like the treasure-hunting kind.

She said, reassuring him that it wasn't something super illegal.

Frye: Just think of it all!

She said, staring up into the sky happily.

Frye: The fame!

Big Man: Ay! (The bragging rights!)

Shiver: The booty~!

Shiver said in a mischievous way, obviously trying to sound like a double entendre.

(Y/N) smiled.

(Y/N): That does all sound nice. So, how are we planning on finding the sunken treasure?

~~~

Shiver: I felt a yank on the rope! Pull!

Shiver was at the front of the group of three, holding onto the rope going off the side of the ship.

Shiver: He's too heavy! Are you two even pulling?!

Shiver looked behind herself to see (Y/N) who was right up behind Shiver, pulling the rope with her.

(Y/N): Don't look at me! I'm trying my hardest here!

(Y/N) turned behind himself now to see Frye holding onto the rope but just standing there a bit lost in thought.

(Y/N): Frye, are you pulling?

Frye: Oh, did you two say "pull"?

Frye asked before yanking the rope hard enough that the two in front of her fell back against her, still holding the rope, as she stood there, having now pulled Big Man back up to the side of the ship.

Big Man: Ay ay ay! (I still don't get why I have to be the one being dropped off the side of the ship into the water!)

Shiver and (Y/N) were now standing back up, hanging onto the rope.

Shiver: We gave you scuba gear. What's the problem?

Big Man: Ay-AY?! AYY! (Sc-SCUBA GEAR?! THIS IS A SNORKEL AND A PAIR OF GOGGLES!)

Shiver: That's good enough. Besides, you're the only one of us who can swim in water anyway.

Frye: Enough with the complainin', Big Man! What did you find this time?

Big Man looked down at the crate he was holding onto.

Big Man: Ay. Ay. (I'm not sure. Another crate.)

Shiver: Okay, toss it over to us, Big Man.

Big Man: Ay! Ay! (No! Pull me onboard first!)

Shiver: Fine. Frye?

Frye yanked the rope again and Big Man spun around the windlass that the rope was around before flopping on the deck.

The four of them gathered around the crate as (Y/N) shoved the crowbar into place and let Frye crack open the crate.

The four were smiling with joy as they looked into the open crate. However, their expressions all quickly soured as they noticed the contents were yet again the same as the previous crates.

Big Man: Ayy?! (I did all that for another crate of shoes?!)

Shiver: A bunch of soggy shoes!

Frye was holding a shoe up against the bottom of her foot before chucking it back into the crate.

Frye: And they're not even my size!

(Y/N): I'm starting to think a shipping ship just lost a bunch of cargo around here.

Shiver: Probably Shipshape Cargo Co.

Frye: Probably! With how they mess up my orders, I wouldn't be surprised if the things I order end up at the bottom of the sea!

Frye turned to Big Man.

Frye: Big Man! Get back in the water and see if you can find an inflatable pool!

Big Man was shaking his head.

Shiver: That's it.

Shiver started walking back up to the wheel of the ship.

(Y/N): What're you doing?

Shiver: Grab onto something. I'm getting us out of this area so we can find things OTHER than damp shoes.

She said before grabbing a peg on the wheel and just throwing the wheel in a direction causing her and the other three to tumble around as the ship quickly started turning to its side, knocking them all down.

The four quickly grabbed onto something until the ship would level itself back out.

Crates and everything loose started sliding across the deck to the lower side of the ship, causing the four to move out of the way or block themselves from being hit by the loose items.

Luckily, the four were fine as the big crates were out of their way and just slid until they hit a wall blocking them on the side of the ship that they slammed into.

Once the ship leveled itself back out, the four all got back on their feet.

Big Man: Ay! (Shiver!)

Shiver hid behind her fan with her eyes shut after brushing herself off.

Shiver: It's not my fault. This ship is too sensitive.

Big Man: Ayy! (You spun it like it was the wheel on a game show!)

Shiver: A winner's spin.

Meanwhile, in the pile of crates against the walls on the side of the ship, they were now rumbling a bit.

Fyre and (Y/N) were the first two to notice, but once the crate on top bounced a bit a few times, Shiver and Big Man finally noticed as well.

Shiver: You didn't catch any fish along with the crates, did you, Big Man?

Big Man shook his head nervously before a large pound was heard that caused the crate atop to shake more.

The four of them now huddled together, leaning away from the crates before slowly approaching them.

When they got over there, they moved the crates out of the way to see that there was some storage box that was bolted to the ship as a part of the design.

The box's shut lid banged a few more times, hearing the commotion of them moving the crates off of it.

The four looked at each other, still huddled up, not sure who should do it even as the thudding of the box got louder with the frequency.

Shiver: You do it, Big Man.

Big Man: Ay?! (Why me?!)

Shiver: It was the crates you caught that made the noise. That's basically your responsibility.

Big Man: Ay! Ayy! Ay! (This box is part of the ship! I already did all the hard work today! One of you do it!)

Shiver: Welp, you heard him, (Y/N), you're up.

(Y/N): Me?! You're the one in charge here!

Shiver: And as the one in charge, I'm telling you to do it.

Frye: Oh, all right!

Frye exclaimed as she quickly grabbed the lid and flung it open as she backed up to the group huddle!

The four peered at the box as nothing came out of it for a few moments, letting the four let their guards down, but just before they had settled back down, a figure popped out of the box.

Pearl: AHA-!

Pearl came popping out of the box, pointing in a random direction before cutting herself off at the realization she was pointing the wrong way before looking around to spot them and point at the four of them.

Pearl: AHA!

Shiver, Frye, & (Y/N): Pearl?!
Big Man: Ay?! (Pearl?!)

Pearl: I knew you three were going to do this!

~Flashback~

Pearl POV

The seven idols were all together, enjoying time together they had to relax now that the Grand Festival was all wrapped up.

Frye: I've been wanting to get a boat recently.

Pearl: Yo, for real?

Frye: Yeah, they're cool.

Pearl: Fo' sho'. I've got a huge ship my dad bought me when I was a kid.

Frye: Seriously?

Pearl: Of course, yo. Why would I lie about that?

Frye thought about it for a second.

Frye: If you've got such a big boat, where do you even keep it at?

Pearl let the cogs of her mind turn for a moment.

Pearl: (Wait a minute... I think I see what she's planning.)

~Flashback Ends~

(Y/N) POV

Pearl: I knew you were going to try and steal my boat!

Shiver: That flashback sucked.

(Y/N): Why did you tell her where to find the ship?

Big Man: Ay ay! (I thought you two said she was fine with us taking it!)

Frye: That flashback was like... a couple days ago. How long have you been waiting for us?

Pearl stared blankly forward at the four.

Pearl: Do any of you have something to drink..?

She said with a cracky voice.

~~~

Pearl was gulping down the entire water bottle. When it was empty, she crushed it and tossed it in the bucket that Big Man had named the trash can.

Pearl: Ah, that hits the spot.

(Y/N): Pearl, I worry about you sometimes.

Pearl: Yo, no need to get flirty with me in front of the chumps.

Shiver & Frye: Hey!

Big Man: Ay! (We're not chumps!)

Big Man said with his fins crossed.

Pearl: Anyway, what were y'all even up to that you wanted my boat for?

Big Man: Ay. (Actually, it's a ship, not a boat.)

Pearl: Uh, Big Man? Ships are the big ones. Boats are the small ones. Duuuh.

Big Man was going to reply to that again, but (Y/N) just signaled him with his hand to let it go.

(Y/N) was honestly just impressed Pearl did know the difference between a ship and a boat, but unfortunately, that doesn't help for her heavily skewed ideas thanks to her rich upbringing. It did however make him curious to see what Pearl considered big enough to be called a ship.

Frye: Either way, I already told you I was interested in gettin' a boat.

Pearl: Yeah, yeah, I gotchu. But what did you want to do with it?

Frye: So far we've just been searching the waters for sunken treasure.

Shiver: Unsuccessfully...

Big Man: Ay. (Not for my lack of trying.)

Pearl: Ah, I see.

Pearl said with her legs crossed and her hand to her chin.

Pearl: Sorry to break it to you, but this area's got nothin' good.

The four looked at each other.

Shiver: How are you so sure?

Pearl: Hol' up one sec.

Pearl looked around and went to a storage box close to the wheel of the ship. She opened it and searched around in it, throwing a few things out of her shoulder before pulling out a rolled-up piece of paper.

Pearl walked back over to where the four others were sitting, put the paper down between them all, and unrolled the paper to reveal a map drawn in crayons.

Pearl: I searched this whole area years ago, top to bottom. Not one single decked-out piece of loot anywhere.

The four others looked at the crudely drawn children's map Pearl had drawn years ago.

Shiver: We were beat to the punch by a child...

The three bandits pouted.

Pearl: Child? This was like four or so years ago. I was twenty-four years old.

(Y/N): Is that why you were gone for like two or three weeks that one time?

Pearl: You know it. I wanted to find some cool mythical, cursed treasure or something like in the movies, yo! I was gonna brag about it to you guys when I got home.

Pearl said with her eyes beaming upward to the sky before she looked down defeatedly.

Pearl: But all I found were worthless chests of gold, jewels, and other worthless junk like that...

The four others around her had their jaws on the floor as they listened to her say that while she looked so heartbroken.

Frye grabbed Pearl.

Frye: What did you do with it all?!

Shiver: Where is it?!

Big Man and (Y/N) were both wallowing over the loss of such extreme riches.

Pearl: How am I supposed to know? I chucked that worthless junk somewhere. I don't remember.

Shiver backed off and kicked something while Frye was just grabbing her head as she looked up with a crazy look.

Pearl looked around at the four others losing their mind.

Pearl: Yo, what's wrong with you weirdos?

The four all looked at her like it was obvious.

Pearl: Whoa. Struck a nerve, I see.

Pearl said as she put her hands up before just wrapping her hands around the back of her head as she let the others get over it.

Pearl walked up to (Y/N) and whispered to him behind her hand.

Pearl: What's their problem?

(Y/N): Nothing, Pearl...

~~~

Once the four got over the fact that Pearl had thrown away untold riches, they decided to just relax for a while and just enjoy the sea air aboard the ship and sightsee around the area.

Shiver: Huh. I always wondered what that big statue that popped out of the water was.

Shiver said, commenting on the N.I.L.S. statue the ship had passed earlier that (Y/N) and Pearl had to explain to them.

Big Man: Ayy... Ay. (It's terrifying to think how often the world has almost ended... But it is cool to see how Human creations have survived so long after the fact.)

Big Man said, reflecting upon the strange statue/doomsday device.

Frye: I'm mad we missed out on what sounds like an awesome battle! Maybe we shoulda brought your roomie along with us on this boat ride so she could tell us about it first hand.

Frye said with an exciting smile.

(Y/N): Probably not the best idea. Veronica doesn't like the sea. She loves the sea air though.

Shiver: Then sounds like it's better that she's not here now~.

Shiver said as she moved up against (Y/N), but was quickly pushed out of the way by Pearl who squeezed her way between the two, causing Shiver to look down at Pearl in annoyance at getting in her way.

Frye: Ooh! Come look, you guys!

Frye said, pointing over the side of the ship.

The other four went to the side of the railing, Pearl even jumping onto one of the railing bars so she could rest her arms on top of the railing, and saw Frye pointing out to the water at how the sun was setting.

(Y/N) smiled.

(Y/N): It's a very beautiful sunset, Frye.

Frye: Huh? Oh, yeah, that too, but no! That!

She exclaimed as there was a whale that jumped out of the water a bit and made a big splash.

(Y/N) had unconsciously looked at the spectacle with a big, stupid smile on his face at how cool he found it to be.

Big Man was clapping at it while Shiver was smirking at it.

Shiver: That was a fine showing. Encore!

Pearl: Yo, how much y'all think a whale costs as a pet?

(Y/N) quickly tried to talk Pearl out of getting a pet whale, which she luckily enough seemed to listen to.

Also, as a further distraction from the absurd idea, Big Man was then hit on the head by a glob of ink.

Big Man looked around in an almost panic-like way trying to figure out where he was hit from.

The four were all laughing at the situation.

Big Man: Ay? Ay? (What's so funny? Which one of you did that?)

Frye in the middle of her laughs, pointed up toward the bridge.

Upon inspection, Big Man looked up and noticed there was a Turf War going on at the Hammerhead Bridge above them.

Big Man pouted at his misfortune before noticing (Y/N) was laughing too, at least trying to hide it behind his hand though, unlike the rest who openly laughed.

Big Man: Ay? (Et tu?)

(Y/N): Sorry, Big Man, but the odds of that were too much.

Big Man pouted for another second before giving it a thought and laughing about it alongside the others.

~~~

The four had continued sightseeing a little longer, even enjoying some snacks the group had brought along. However, they did have to earn their right to the food by fighting off the seagulls who also wanted a taste of their snacks.

After that whole debacle was over, the ship was just cruising by the shore as the five of them relaxed together, enjoying the bright lights of the city, night sky, other boats, and all of that reflected in the water to double all of it.

Frye: Now this? This is why I wanted a boat. All the lights of the boats twinkling like their own set of stars.

(Y/N) was leaning on the railing beside her and the others.

(Y/N) smiled at all of the lights and back at her.

(Y/N): Okay, the boat idea is a pretty good one.

Frye happily pushed off of the railing.

Frye: Really?!

(Y/N) nodded.

Shiver: A boat would be a good addition to our tools.

Big Man: Ay! (And we can do performances from it too!)

Pearl: I'd be careful if you plan on doing that last one.

Big Man: Ay? (How come?)

Pearl heard the screams echoing in her head.

Pearl: Just trust me.

She said nonchalantly.

Frye: So, I'm approved for a boat then?

(Y/N): Eventually. Why don't you save up some money for it first so it's less of a dream and more of a reality?

Frye: Or just... y'know... steal one.

Frye said while hanging back on the railing.

(Y/N): Frye.

Frye: Yeah, I got it. Buy a boat. Don't steal one. Sheesh... That's gonna take longer though...

Frye said, resting her head on the railing.

Shiver: Or we could take out a loan-!

Big Man: Ayy! (Or we could avoid tremendous debt!)

Shiver: Come on, we'll make the money back from a show in no time.

Big Man: Ay, ayyy. Ay. (Yeah, but you'd have to not buy any other random things you want after the next show too. Which you two are incapable of.)

Shiver: That's true, I do love buying things...

Frye turned her head on the railing to face (Y/N), smiling as she did so.

Frye: Will you be there to enjoy it with me when I get one?

(Y/N): If it's as fun as it was today? Of course.

Shiver popped up, resting her head on his shoulder from the other side.

Shiver: I'll be there too!

Big Man then popped up over Shiver as well, weighing the two down.

Big Man: Ay! (Me three!)

Pearl popped up from below (Y/N), between Frye and him.

Pearl: And I'll also be there for my bud, Frye. I can show you how to master your boat in no time.

Pearl said confidently.

Frye: Oh yeah? What kind of boating skills we talkin' about?

Pearl: You wanna see? I'm the finest sailor in all of these waters, yo!

(Y/N): Then can we put you in a cute sailor outfit?

Pearl groaned as he chuckled.

Pearl: Now you just sound like Marina.

Frye: Why don't you put your money where your mouth is then? Show us how the best sailor around does it? And if you fail to impress, you have to wear a li'l sailor outfit for us and do a dance in it too.

Shiver: Now that sounds like an interesting bet I'm happy to see through.

Pearl: Ha! Easy peasy.

Pearl said, hopping away from the railing and she walked over toward the ship's wheel.

Pearl: I hope you can handle the fact that I'll always be the number one in these waters.

Pearl said with a cocky grin as the others smirked upon watching her, some did so in a mischievous manner like Shiver, some with innocence like Big Man, and Frye and (Y/N) who were just wondering how far Pearl would let the charade go on.

Pearl: Watch... and learn.

She said as her hand touched the ship's wheel.

~~~

Pearl POV

On the shoreline, the five of them all had space blankets on from the ambulance and rescue workers whose sirens were flashing around the area too.

Shiver's face was in her hands as she slouched forward into her hands on the back of the ambulance that had given her and the others their space blankets.

Big Man was holding onto the ends of his space blanket for comfort as he shivered from the stress of it all.

Frye was just crouched down at the railing beside them, holding onto it with her space blanket wrapped around her as she looked out at the firey shipwreck that poked out of the water as it was still in the process of sinking.

(Y/N) was just deadpan staring straight forward like his soul had left his body from beneath his space blanket.

All of this while Pearl was just nearby them, wrapped in her space blanket she was holding together with one hand while the other was on her cellphone she was holding to her ear.

Pearl was pacing around a bit, taking occasional glances toward the fiery wreck of her boat just offshore that wasn't even done sinking yet. Plenty of people had even come out of the buildings in the area to watch and record the spectacle.

The person on the other end of the phone call she was trying to make finally answered.

Pearl: Yo, dad, glad you answered. It, uh... happened again.

She said as she turned to face out at the wreckage to get a view of it all again and also to try and make it easier for her to hear as the sirens all around her were so loud.

Pearl listened to her father's words on the other end of the phone call.

Pearl: Yeah.

Her father spoke more.

Pearl: Yes.

She listened more.

Pearl: Probably.

She listened, this one going on a bit longer.

Pearl smiled as she listened to what he said.

Pearl: Thanks, I 'preciate you, daddy-o.

She spoke happily, which was quite a different tone of emotions than the other four were currently going through.

Pearl: Oh, before you go, do you uh... still have my sailor outfit..?

She asked, quiet enough so that hopefully the others wouldn't hear her, despite the loud blaring sirens.

Pearl listened to her dad.

Pearl: Y'know... the...

Pearl looked around to make sure the others weren't paying attention before she whispered extra quietly directly into the phone.

Pearl: The one from when I was a kid..? I think I'm gonna need it...

4404 Words

November 27, 2024 - 1:55 A.M.